Solid Anvil Collection

Below: A 450-pound bridge anvil used mainly in railroad shops to make large, round, metal rings for boilers. The height of the anvil enabled the smith to loop the rings through the opening.

Left: A 120-pound Fisher anvil, with the eagle trademark visible.

Left to right: Three generations of Barkmans: Henry Barkman, Jake Barkman and Chip Barkman. Henry, who still farms the family farm, recalls the family anvil (a Fisher, shown here) from his earliest memories, nearly 70 years ago. Jake is Chip Barkman’s son; Chip is Henry’s son. Chip works as a millwright.

Left: A 156-pound English anvil, manufacturer unknown.

Right: A pair of Hay-Budden anvils.Above: A Peter Wright farrier’s anvil, with a tool in the hardie hole. This English anvil, which dates to the 1700s or early 1800s, is made of wrought iron with a steel-plate face for added hardness and durability. The table is 3/8- to 1/2-inch thick forge-welded steel plate.

Above: A Trenton anvil.

Below: A set of hardie tools. Anvils are manufactured with a variety of holes, performing a variety of functions. Square-shank tools such as these fit into the Hardie hole, typically located on the top surface of the anvil. Other holes include those under the anvil’s base, or in its feet (used to maneuver the anvil during manufacture); heat sumps, located under the base and extending nearly to the top, used to help distribute heat more evenly; and the Pritchel hole, a round hole usually adjacent to the Hardie hole, used in conjunction with a punch to punch holes in hot steel, drive out nails, or bend small-diameter rods.

Left: A Trenton farrier anvil.

Left: A 635-pound anvil on a 500-pound factory stand.

Below: A trio of Trentons. Old anvils vary in price. Big ones are rare and expensive. Smaller anvils can be found at relatively affordable prices. Many are sold by the pound, anywhere from $1 to $2 per pound.

Right: A Peter Wright anvil; Chip Barkman uses this anvil in his shop.

Below: A 134-pound Hay Budden anvil

Below: 140-pound EHC Hay Budden. The heyday of American anvil manufacture was from 1890 to about 1930.

Below: An EHC Hay-Budden. Hay-Budden made anvils for various companies which then put their own name on the anvil. This anvil, for instance, is marked “EHC”: the latter two letters stand for “Hardware Company.” The name of the hardware company is lost to time.